EU Health Ministers Meet in Jönköping

Published måndag 6 juli 2009 kl 10.13

What the EU should do about antibiotic resistance is being discussed at the meeting

Update 20:58

European Health Ministers are to hold an extra meeting in October to discuss the Swine Flu pandemic, and Swedish Public Health Minister Maria Larsson hopes that the ministers will then be able to agree on a common strategy on how to deal with the illness. But before that happens the individual member states have to organise their vaccine purchases, she told Swedish news agency TT.

Some EU member states, such as Sweden, have already ordered their vaccine stocks and are waiting for the first deliveries in a couple of months time. Other countries have not yet placed any orders due to financial constraints.

The Swedish Public Health Minister also wants EU member states to co-ordinate public information campaigns about Swine Flu.

She says: "Imagine if citizens in all EU countries covered their sneezes, had alcohol-based disinfectants in their handbags, washed their hands, and stayed home from work when they were ill."

Social Welfare Minister Göran Hägglund said that ministers were generally in agreement when it came to discussions in the fight against antibiotic resistant bacteria. On Tuesday the ministers will discuss how to prevent alcohol-related diseases and the free movement of patients within the EU, something Göran Hägglund expects to be controversial.